Horse charity struggles with an increase in welfare reports during cost of living crisis

The Bristol-based rescue centre plans to adapt facilities to cope with the demand.

HorseWorld is home to more than 100 horses and donkeys, predominantly rescued from welfare situations, with over half arriving from seizures where the HorseWorld team have worked in collaboration with other welfare charities and local authorities.

“Our HorseWorld herd is currently at capacity and the calls keep coming in asking for our help.” Said HorseWorld’s Head of Equine Welfare, Sarah Hollister. “The economic climate has left many horse owners struggling to pay general care and feed bills and HorseWorld have seen an increase in abandoned and neglected animals. Many of the cases we are asked to help with are large numbers of animals are abandoned at the same time.”

HorseWorld have seen a dramatic increase in the number of unhandled and feral horses in recent years. In these situations time is often of the essence and the ability to be able to handle these terrified equines quickly and with the least amount of stress is paramount.

The charity are planning to renovate their hospital isolation unit to include a bespoke holding pen which will allow feral horses to be treated in a safe environment for both horses and the HorseWorld team whilst showing respect and consideration for the horse. Biosecurity is crucial at this time and the charity need to keep new arrivals in an isolated holding unit until they have received the necessary tests and treatment they need before they can mix with the rest of the animals on the farm.

“We prefer our new arrivals to become accustomed to being handled before they need veterinary examination, but on occasions we need to urgently intervene to provide emergency treatment soon after arrival.” Said Sarah. “We need the equipment to be both effective and efficient in our treatment of these bewildered animals.

“The system we are planning to install will mean they can receive the necessary treatment quickly and calmly allowing them to move to another area of the farm to continue their rehabilitation once their quarantine period is over. This will prevent the whole system from becoming ‘bed blocked’ which reduces our intake capacity.”

You can find out more about this project and donate at www.horseworld.org.uk/feral